Check out this latest news from Knepp…
White storks lay the first eggs of the year
The stars of our live web cam, white storks Ania and Bartek, are now sitting on four eggs, just like last year. And in nests perched around Knepp Wildland, their peers are also busy laying.
As our white storks continue to arrive home from migration, we’re excited by the building tally of eggs. It’s set to be another record-breaking year at Knepp. Here’s to a dry spring and plenty of earthworms, grasshoppers and other insects crucial for the survival of the chicks.
Wilding Kitchen has a spring in its step
The Wilding Kitchen is springing into life for the new season. We’ll be operating our summer opening times from 14 April, from 9am to 5pm, seven days a week. BBQs are back too, from Friday 2 May. And from Saturday 3 May, Saturday evening service returns.
We’ll be launching our Spring Menu on 14 April – the first from our brilliant new head chef, Alex. More about him in due course! We’re very excited.
Reserve a table to make sure you’re ahead of the queue to sample our new wild-inspired offerings.
Knepp & Storrington named as European Stork Village
Knepp and the nearby village of Storrington have been jointly designated “European Stork village” by the Germany-based EuroNatur foundation.
We’re so honoured to be joining a group of 15 other villages in 15 countries across Europe recognised for the work they’re doing to protect storks.
The White Stork Project, part of the Knepp Wildland Foundation, has had an incredible impact since the first storks fledged in the wild in the UK in 2020. Last year, the project recorded 53 chicks from 27 nests – double the number from the previous year.
The honour will be presented to Knepp and Storrington Council by members of the European Stork Villages Network on Bank Holiday Monday 5 May at our very first Stork & Wildlife Revival Festival, to be held in the grounds of Storrington Leisure Centre. The festival will feature children’s stork parades, animals and music. More info to come over the next few weeks.
Laura Vaughan-Hirsch, manager of the White Stork Project, said: “We’re really proud and excited to be working with brilliant conservation organisations and communities across Europe. We hope storks will help communities to connect with each other, not just across counties in the UK, but over counties and even continents.”
Story of the oak safaris
Knepp is home to over 500 ancient and veteran oaks, the monarchs of trees. They can live for a millenium, providing food and shelter for literally thousands of species, from mammals, insects and birds, to fungi, lichens and mosses. But how can we ensure the best outcome for future generations of these giant, open-grown oaks?
Join Knepp’s ranger and woodsman, Tom Burns, for our Story o fthe Oak safari. You’ll follow the journey of an oak from an acorn in a jay’s beak through to the three stages of its life – growing, maturing and stately decline. Learn about the importance of thorny scrub as the ideal nursery for young trees and natural regeneration as a means of securing genetic diversity, improving the long-term chances of a tree surviving disease and climate change.
Knepp is home to over 500 ancient and veteran oaks, the monarchs of trees. They can live for a millenium, providing food and shelter for literally thousands of species, from mammals, insects and birds, to fungi, lichens and mosses. But how can we ensure the best outcome for future generations of these giant, open-grown oaks?
Join Knepp’s ranger and woodsman, Tom Burns, for our Story o fthe Oak safari. You’ll follow the journey of an oak from an acorn in a jay’s beak through to the three stages of its life – growing, maturing and stately decline. Learn about the importance of thorny scrub as the ideal nursery for young trees and natural regeneration as a means of securing genetic diversity, improving the long-term chances of a tree surviving disease and climate change.
Check out more news from Knepp here
Photo Credits David Oldham. Knepp volunteers – Gary Franklin and Tor Davies.